Freedom can take many forms, and can be attained in different ways. In Edwidge Danticat’s ‘A Wall of Fire Rising’ the hot air balloon symbolizes the freedom of Guy, a man trying to escape the unjust cycle of poverty through his own means of death, leaving behind a wife and son. Guy is not judged after death based on the act of killing himself, he is judged based on his deeds and actions while he was alive

Lili loved Guy and did not agree with his negative personal views. Lili’s initial reaction to Guy’s death was not how a typical wife would react when witnessing her husband’s death. She did not run towards her husband’s body but instead slowly walked towards him and just examined the body in deep thought trying to find physical signs showing that it was the man she loved. Lili showed no signs of being angry at Guy for leaving her and Little Guy alone. Her lack of shock described by her reaction and body language showed that she understood the reason behind his action and accepted his decision. Her last words when asked if she wanted Guy’s eyes closed she replied “No, leave them open. My husband, he likes to look at the sky” (Danticat 218). Lili realized that Guy had finally found his freedom and that living did not mean he was alive. It was death that let him live.

Little Guy had been hidden from the reality of his family’s situation, having the bare minimum to try and survive from day to day. Getting an education was the main priority, while his parents somehow provided food on the table. Little Guy seemed confused when his father was about to jump out of the hot air balloon. When he approached the body, he was in a state of shock. Little Guy did not ask any questions after seeing his father’s body on the ground. All he uttered were the lines from his play that Guy was so proud of, in which Little Guy played Boukman, a slave revolutionary. Despair was apparent when “the boy continued reciting his lines, his voice rising to a man’s grieving roar”...

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“A Wall of FireRising”
In 1995, Edwidge Danticat wrote “A Wall of FireRising” which is a short story from her
book Krik? Krak! It is a story about a Haitain family who endeavors to survive both
emotionally and financially. In “A Wall of FireRising,” Guy, Little Guy, and Lili tried to work
through their poverty as best they could. Guy, the father of little Guy and the husband of Lili,
strived to be what he thought was the ideal man and provider. Guys thought of being the ideal
man was working at the sugar mill, putting food on their table, and providing a, “pretty house”
for Lili.
Little Guy was his parents inspiration. Little Guy was given the lead role in a play as
Boukman (Boukman was a rebel in the revolution; the Haitains looked up to Boukman because
he was a strong leader who inspired his followers). When he recited the heroic speech for his
family, they were over-joyed with pride. Little guy strived hard to learn his lines. If the
kerosene lamp ran out and there was no light; he would then go out to the street lights to
continue studying.
Lili is a very motivational, strong, and uplifting woman. She motivates her son and
husband to be the best that they can be. She is a strong woman because she is also dealing with
the everyday struggle of feeding her...

...Brady Miller
Intro to Literature
T/R 12:50-2:15
10/30/2012
Reader Response #8
“A Wall of FireRising” by Edwidge Danticat
There are two people in this world: those who can deal with life’s challenges and those who cannot. “A Wall of FireRising” by Edwidge Danticat recognizes this predicament in the shantytowns of Haiti in 1991. Freedom has a different meaning for everybody and can be attained in different ways. As referenced by Guy, the hot air balloon is the key to freedom. Guy and his wife, Lili, have different perspectives on freedom and what life should be.
Lili loves her husband Guy, but is not too fond of his negative comments and views towards people. Before marrying Guy, Lili was skeptical since he had an angular hairline. “It was said that people with angular hairlines often have very troubled lives” (238). Guy and Lili’s son, Little Guy, lived in a world by himself. He was focused on education and remembering his lines for his role Boukman in the upcoming school play.
It was not of major importance for Little Guy to be focused on his parent’s financial situation. He has not been faced yet with the reality of being dirt poor. Lili wanted Little Guy to have the life that Guy and she never had. She wanted to give her son the opportunity to be successful. Guy wanted his son to work in the sugar mill, the only source of jobs in the area. Lili opposed this idea for it...

...﻿The Imagery of Fire in Edwidge Danticat’s “A Wall of FireRising”
The imagery of fire in Edwidge Danticat's short story “A Wall of FireRising” possesses a very powerful meaning and also continually changes throughout the entirety of the story. Fire was a very sacred thing to have, especially during the time this story has taken place.
One example of how fire is used in the story "A Wall of FireRising" is the fire that is burning deep down inside of Big Guy. This fire is a metaphor of the build up of all of Big Guy's emotions and frustrations that happen and are presented throughout his life. Big Guy struggles with his inner self a lot. He is also ashamed because he has not had a job in six months, and even that job is not guaranteed. The mere fact of having a job was important to Big Guy because all he wants in life was to be able to have his manhood back and support is able to support his little family. The only job he could get was scrubbing toilets at the sugar mill. This wall of fire is Big Guy's ego, and it is very damaged. Big Guy also struggled with wanting to do the right thing by his family by supporting them but also wanting to make himself happy. He especially wants what he thought is right for his son,...

...﻿Zeanna Buchanan
Professor Hall
English 1102
3 March 2014
“A Wall of FireRising”-Reading Response
Edwidge Danticat illustrated freedom throughout her short story, “A Wall of FireRising”. Freedom has a different meaning for everyone and can be attained many ways. Two ways were portrayed by the characters: Guy, Lili, and Lil Guy. They are a Haitian family in the 1990’s.
Lili, the mother and wife, saw that freedom from their shantytown lifestyle could be gained for Lil Guy if he worked hard to attain a decent education. Lil Guy must have agreed with his mother’s perception because he did just that and got a part in the play of Boukman, a Haitian revolutionary.
Guy, the father and husband, always felt the need to break free but when Lil Guy recited a part of Boukman’s speech Guy began to open up about his desire to operate the hot air balloon that the Asaad family owns. Guy wanted to feel free and when he stole that hot air balloon, he did but he also wanted to keep that feeling. The words of his son’s lines rang in his head, “I call on everyone and anyone so that we shall all let out one piercing cry that we may either live freely or we should die."(Danticat,154) So in return he jumped which gave him his last physical feeling of freedom, the moments before his death is when he lived the most. In this circumstance being completely free means to...

...﻿Cazshmere Rollison
Professor DeTriberus
English 101
Fiction Essay
February 13, 2014
Class and Culture Differences
In Edwidge Danticat’s “A Wall of RisingFire,” majority of the towns’ people were viewed as low class. Working full-time always having to provide for the family with wage below poverty line. “Lili, was squatting in the middle of their one-room home, spreading cornmeal mush on banana leaves for their supper” (Danticat 72). For instance, in the 1800s through the 1900s industrialization and immigration brought poverty new kind and on a new scale to Eastern European immigrants. Danticat meets the same circumstances as Harrison Bergeron, being placed in a government control and determining to be free under a communist government “Near the sugar mill was a large television screen in a iron grill cage that the government installed so the shantytown dwellers could watch the state sponsored news at eight o’clock” (Danticat 76). This gives the reader the visual of how poverty was and showing the facts and outcomes if being “poor” or low class. “A Wall of RisingFire” the level of socialism and class for Lili and Little Guy is not what it could be.
The wealth between the people and the sugar mill owner perspectives were put in different ways. The people had to struggle to get what they need instead of it being given to them. “Guy only got one’s day of work at...

...﻿Jordan Jolly
Dr. Douglas Hall
English 1102
10 February 2014
Reading Response: “A Wall of Fire Raising”
“A Wall of FireRising” was written by Edwidge Danticat. The short story was accompanied by a group of other short stories written by Danticat in the book Krik? Krak!. Published in 1996, the book is a collection of nine short stories. The aspect I want to focus on is the way the text illustrates control throughout the story. Throughout the story you can see where control is taking place, but it is hidden. It is hidden behind the way the family and people of the country live. They go throughout the day as if there is not any government control over them, like this is a way of life. However, the reader can see complete hegemony over this community from beginning to end.
The story takes place in the country of Haiti, in a very poor community called Shantytown. As Guy walks in the house, his wife is scrapping cornmeal off the floor onto banana leaves as their supper for the night. While Lily is preparing their supper, we hear the first part of Little Guy’s lines given to him for his play at school. Little Guy’s lines are the first piece of evidence given to the reader. After Little Guy’s lines, the narrator informs us that the speech was from a European man and not a forefather of Haitian independence. This is just one of the many ways the government over the country had its people...

...﻿A Wall of FireRising
An image that was prevalent in this story was the hot air balloon. The hot air balloon represented freedom for Guy, who was trying to escape the unfair poverty that his family was experiencing. This symbol of freedom is first introduced to the reader when Guy, his wife Lili, and their son all go down to the sugar mill to hear the evening news that is displayed for them. This is a little place of enjoyment that they have found since they don’t go and sit with everyone else, “where in the past year they had discovered their own wonder.” I thought it was fitting that Danticat separated Guy and the balloon with barbed wire. It was like he wasn’t supposed to be free. “As Guy pushed his hand through the barbed wire, she could tell from the look on his face that he was thinking of sitting inside the square basket while the sooth rainbow surface of the balloon itself floated above his head”, this was foreshadowing that he would end up in that balloon of freedom one day.
Before Guy jumped out of the balloon, he was asking Lili how she thought a man is judged after he is gone. She responded with “A man is judged by his deeds, the boy never goes to bed hungry.” Guy took this as an approval to go forth with his search for freedom. Guy is not judged after death based on the act of killing himself, he is judged based on his deeds and actions while he was alive.
I was definitely caught off guard when he jumped out of...